Question

Compare and contrast the ratios of same-sex couples and opposite-sex couples. Explain the effects on the children.

Answer 1

• While almost 58 percent of married heterosexuals were still married after 20 years, a survey of same-sex couples found that “only 15 percent describe their current relationship as having lasted twelve years or longer, with five percent lasting more than twenty years.
• It's estimated there are 690,000 same-sex couples living in the United States and that 19 per cent of such couples are raising children under the age of 18.
• Children of same-sex couples fare better when it comes to physical health and social well-being than children in the general population.The greater social cohesion among same-sex families comes from an equal distribution of work.Same-sex couples are likely to share responsibilities more equally than heterosexual ones.
• It is liberating for parents to take on roles that suit their skills rather than defaulting to gender stereotypes, where mum is the primary care giver and dad the primary breadwinner.
• According to the study, about two-thirds of children with same-sex parents experienced some form of stigma because of their parents’ sexual orientation. Despite these kids’ higher marks in physical health and social well-being, the stigma associated with their family structure was linked to lower scores on a number of scales.The greater the stigma a same-sex family faces, the greater the impact on a child’s social and emotional well-being.
• Despite higher levels of parenting stress for same-sex parents, their offspring do not differ in general health, emotional difficulties, coping behavior, or learning behavior when compared with the offspring of different-sex parents.Parents feel pressured to justify the quality of their parenting more than their heterosexual counterparts.
• Many studies have demonstrated that children’s well-being is affected much more by their relationships with their parents, their parents’ sense of competence and security, and the presence of social and economic support for the family than by the gender or the sexual orientation of their parents.